The public school system in America was never designed for the world we live in now. It was built in an era when conformity was the goal, not creativity. At that time, when preparing students for factory jobs made sense, compliance was rewarded over curiosity. 

However, Gen Z and Gen Alpha aren’t heading to the factory. They’re entering a world of constant change, where mental health challenges and existential uncertainty run rampant. Our education system hasn’t kept up, and now the cracks are showing.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reading and math scores among 13-year-olds are the lowest they’ve been in decades. The CDC reports that nearly 40 percent of high schoolers have persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, marking a sharp rise over the last 10 years. These aren’t isolated issues but systemic indicators of a broken approach. 

Yet, the primary metrics we use to evaluate success in public education revolve around standardized testing and these academic benchmarks. These measurements don’t reveal whether a student knows how to manage stress, think critically or build meaningful relationships. The current education model often stifles those abilities. 

The biggest issue with government-mandated schools isn’t just what they teach but rather what they ignore. Schools are supposed to prepare students for life, but ask most high schoolers if they feel emotionally prepared for adulthood, and you’ll likely receive a blank stare. That’s why “Adulting 101” classes, covering everything from budgeting to emotional regulation, are rising in popularity. Students are desperate for real-world education. 

We need to stop viewing school as a place to stuff heads with facts. It should be a place where students can discover who they are and why they matter. When we reduce kids to test scores, we reduce their future potential. To close achievement gaps, we must focus on identity formation, emotional resilience and purpose. 

We’ve allowed a culture of standardization to define what education looks like. From the Department of Education on down, we’ve built a system that values sameness over substance. Reform efforts often tinker around the edges, adjusting testing frameworks or introducing new curriculum standards, without addressing the deeper issue. We’ve lost sight of why we’re educating in the first place.

The Fordham Institute recently warned against turning schools into factories, urging policymakers to treat them more like communities. That shift in mindset matters. Communities nurture, challenge and shape character. Factories don’t. If our schools are to improve the education experience, we must reshape them around human development, not industrial output.

Here are three practical steps to begin repairing the damage:

—Reimagine the role of education by changing the metrics: Stop treating standardized testing as the gold standard. Student achievement should include creativity, collaboration and character. When we reimagine the role of education, we can then reimagine the skills and methodologies of the educators facilitating it.

—Provide students with one-on-one coaching opportunities: Every school should provide individualized coaching that helps students understand their value and potential beyond academic performance.

—Address the culture, not just the curriculum: Reform often fails because it only changes what students learn, not how they learn or who they become in the process. If students are not taught how to be confident, capable and self-reliant, then the education system will remain dysfunctional.

Organizations like the American Enterprise Institute argue we must move beyond reform to rethinking. This shift involves challenging outdated educational models to support alternative educational pathways and provide school leaders with the freedom to innovate.

These aren’t new ideas. Throughout history, even during periods when education was not mandatory, people have still been able to learn through creativity and other values instilled in them by their communities. 

Rethinking education doesn’t start with the next round of policy updates. When students know they are loved and capable, both they and their educators can begin to remove systemic dysfunction from the traditional education model. The current system can only be fixed when we remember that.